Donald Trump’s BIG move to protect Venezuelan oil assets held in US, signs order to…

US President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order on Friday (local time) declaring a national emergency to protect Venezuelan oil revenues held in US Treasury accounts from legal seizure or judicial seizure, saying the move was intended to advance US foreign policy and national security objectives.

According to the White House, the Executive Order prevents any seizure, judgment, attachment, foreclosure, foreclosure or other judicial action against Venezuelan oil revenues and dilutive sales deposited into U.S. Treasury accounts.

These funds, called “Foreign Government Deposit Funds,” will be frozen unless specifically permitted under the new order. The decision also prohibits any transfer or trading of funds and overrides previous directives regulating or restricting such transfers or transactions. It states that oil revenues are the sovereign property of Venezuela, are held in U.S. custody for government and diplomatic purposes, and cannot be claimed by private individuals.

The Trump administration has said allowing the seizure of such funds would undermine U.S. efforts to maintain political and economic stability in Venezuela and threaten broader regional security. It was stated that the decision was due to concerns about illegal immigration, drug trafficking and the influence of hostile foreign actors. The White House has said losing control over Venezuelan oil revenues could strengthen groups like Iran and Hezbollah, while also weakening efforts to stabilize Venezuela and the broader Western Hemisphere. He added that safeguarding funds also supports U.S. compliance with international obligations.

“Allowing these funds to be added would directly jeopardize U.S. objectives, including disrupting the flow of illegal aliens and disrupting the flow of illicit narcotics that have resulted in the deaths of countless thousands of American citizens. Losing control over these revenues would weaken efforts to bring peace, prosperity, and stability to the Venezuelan people and the Western Hemisphere as a whole, while empowering malign actors such as Iran and Hezbollah,” the White House said in a statement.

The Executive Order forms part of Trump’s broader “America First” approach to Venezuela. The administration said Trump took a tough stance against the Maduro regime and criminal networks operating in the region.

On his first day in office, Trump designated eight cartels, including the Venezuela-linked Tren de Aragua, as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. The White House said it also authorized the use of lethal force against narcoterrorists, ordered a complete blockade of sanctioned oil tankers operating in and out of Venezuela, and demanded an end to drug trafficking.

The White House also stated that the United States recently carried out a military operation to support efforts to bring Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro to justice, saying that this was part of the strategy to restore deterrence in the Western Hemisphere.

Earlier in the day, Trump met with top oil and gas executives at the White House to encourage major investment in Venezuela’s energy sector, saying there would be “a lot of money to be made.” Addressing reporters earlier, he said: “We had a great meeting with the oil executives, we sort of made a deal.” They’re going to come in with hundreds of billions of dollars to extract oil, and that’s good for Venezuela and great for the United States.” Trump was quoted as saying: “There’s a lot of money to be made. “Oil prices will fall, but they’re falling quite well without that, and it was a great meeting we had today with the biggest companies anywhere in the world,” he said.

(Except the headline, the story has not been edited by DNA Team but is published directly from ANI)